Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1887-06-16
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EeAeneary People.
Some Thoughtful Person has remarked,
HAys the New York Times, that notwtth-
standing all the boosted conquests Of man
over nature, his extreme power still con
Stats In controlling the position Of unre-
lated particles of matter. He can bring
the rough metal to the machines which
shall produce q triple-condensing marine
engine, but he can no more create the
engine, or the most trivial Of it's parts,
now than he could before the era of steam
aud electricity. In some such way we
feel moved to bring together facts not too
obviously related, and 20 leave the infer
enoe to the many Thoughtful Persons
among our readers.
Never did season Of sport open with
greater promise than this. Never was
there greater interest in the national game.
Scarcely ever was there greater gather
ing Of fashion and beauty on such an oc-
casion that at the remarkable intercol-
leQiats contests the other day. Tennis is
a universal fad. Every holiday our beau
titul waters are studded with mosquito
craft land 80 it goes. IL is the culmina.
ti6n OF n movement In favor OF outdoor
life which cannot have escaped attention.
At the same time II is known that men
live longer than they used to. Forty-one
years used TO be the mean duration OF
life; low It is A on grand average, and,
selecting the classes among which physi-
cal culture Ia most valued and most
general, it is not less than SO years.
II any one chooses to put two
and two together, and 20 say that
athiehcism is at least one factor in in
creasing longevity, we cannot say him
nay--although that is not our point. II
is not parents duty TO bequeath wealth
which too often means rapid pace to an
early death, whereas a deep chest, eagle
eyes, and sound heart are among thu
most precious gifts OF nature to man, who
80 far as he can control il, ia in duty
bound to pass them on to his children
The more athletes there are the greater
will be the number of fathers who thu
endow their sons and daughters, and tn,
raster will the average death rate improve
But aion, with this general good goes al
individual danger which is now and ther
sharply emphasized, as by the untimely
death last week of the Hon. Ion Keitl
Falconer. And this lie the point TO which
we would ask the attention of thoughtful
persons in general, and Thoughtful
Young Athletes in particular.
Among wheelmen Falconer was almos
such century plant as Myers among run
ners. He held ct least three champion
ships and possibly even more ''bests on
record" When he tackled the 50-mil,
distance he took seven minutes less timI
than the best man who preceded him, ant
he rode in less than fortnight over tn,
extreme length of the tight little island
where,it is said, Jumbo always had sort
throat because he could not turn round
without wetting his feet. Well, this prodigy
ia dead of heart disease in his third decade
II is true he did not die in race, as die
that marvellous sculler, Renforth. Neither
did he show any OF those brutal tendencies
i which Wilkie Collins proved to his owl
satisfaction in the person of Delamayn Of
the chief result of ''trnining." Nor is il
beyond doubt that bicycle riding was the
remote cause Of the unsound heart which
killed him. The fact remains that with
such an organic defect he invited death
every time he raced. II is stubborn fact
that while good training strengthens 9
man, clock, stock and barrel, bad train.
ing seeks out the weakest spot of mar
for the strain it can least endure. The
young athlete, however thoughtful, may
care very little for the average of longeV
ity, but he may not despise some hints or
the dangers of bad training.
Even now the professional trainer" il
to some extent the Thales for athletes. HI
begins with dose of physic because III
does so with prizs-fghters, who live
grossly, nor does he omit the physic ever
il his charge be youth of good habits
Next he stints food and drink and de
mands an overplus of work because prize
fighters will surely slight their exercis
and gorge themselves when not watched
The ambitious amateur oftener oyerdoe
than sights his work, but there is onl,
one professional regimen. This is tradi
tion, but exploded tradition, at our bes
colleges, whether for men or women. A
Harvard and Wellesley alike are compe
tent instructors in the science and art o.
being we'll, and it was no professional
who taught Yalensians the Bob Cool
stroke and put the winning beef
behind it. With the modern amateu
trainer the doctor goes hand in hand
md contestant is in the least practicable
q Niger in their care. When the last-laI
~ 7 sounds be may safely run s'all out.
almost reproach to his handlers if
his supreme effort, he is giddy anC
ven for brief time. His physiqu
ely fails-should never fail--to be NJ
" any demands his nerve can make upd.
IL The the lion in his path. Hi
muscles will soften lo4g bafore bis nerv
will weaken. Let him beware how, whel
out Of training, he calls upon his re
sources for what is no longer in then
If the muscles are fat-laden and the lung
IRE iiabby and the hearts walls thin, an
nerve impelling them is good, til
I part must yield. The dray hors
worAs himself into premature d,
de; and it is rare tbatsra0sr drop
track like Orator; butevery traine
Us it is madness to push thorough
red when he is not fit. Just so wit
men-the chief danger is not on the cir
der path, but In the chance demand
which high courage may unRwares maxi
upon a deteriorated physique.
The only beneficial exercise is thf
which helps recreation,a process whic
is indispensable in that high healt
which is SO close akin to good training
Sluggish vital processes are the bane
city life. 1t does little good to merel
weary the muscles with dumbbells {
weighing machines, and Turkish bat
is poor substitute for a natural sWea
What the health seeker needs is that e!
ertiOn which shall open his lungs to ii
bottom, which shall pump rich blood
his furthest fibre, and shall expel wast
matter by every natural channel. The
there is chance for good food to do il
perfect work of recreation aud the ey
days of govt and biliousnesa are pos
poaed to the decline Of years. Here
the true art Of prolonging youth. At {
Bryant had not lessened by the bread
Of his thumb" the exercises which |
prescribed for his middle age. Such In
vigor may not be attained by all, bu
other things being equal, those men al
women Will grow old most slowly wi
longest maintain the exercises Of youtl
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hTchtIy Excited.
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